Robot Driver Support in ROS 2

Supporting industrial manipulators in ROS 2 involves a modular architecture that encourages vendor participation and minimizes custom integration effort. Rather than relying on generic middleware or legacy systems, the ROS-Industrial approach promotes the use of OEM-provided motion interfaces that align with ROS 2 tools and conventions.

OEM Motion Interfaces as the Foundation

A growing number of OEMs now provide ROS 2-compatible external motion interfaces. These interfaces typically require minimal integration effort and can directly leverage the ROS 2 ecosystem, including tools such as:

  • ros2_control – A modular and extensible framework for hardware abstraction and control

  • micro-ROS – Lightweight ROS 2 support tailored for embedded systems and edge controllers

Examples of current OEM-supported integrations:

  • Universal Robots (UR) – Integration through ros2_control

  • Yaskawa Motoman – Offers MotoROS2 and micro-ROS integration since May 2023

These examples demonstrate that vendor-provided solutions offer robust, production-ready interfaces that align with ROS 2 control frameworks and planning pipelines.

Layered Architecture for Industrial Robot Integration

The ROS-Industrial stack for manipulators is built on a layered architecture as illustrated:

ROS 2 Driver Architecture

  • ROS GUI Layer – Plugin-based UI tools including RViz and browser-based interfaces

  • Environment Layer – Tools for planning, kinematics, collision checking, and world state

  • ROS-I Application Layer – Process planners and state machines for specific industrial workflows

  • ROS-I Configuration Layer – Standard parameter sets and interface conventions

  • Control Layer – Based on ros2_control, micro-ROS, or vendor-specific toolchains

  • Hardware Interface Layer – Bridges to OEM drivers or motion libraries

This modularity allows developers and OEMs to select the integration path that best suits their hardware and capabilities.